


Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, Strive for the Future

by SerStolas



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-08-27 09:39:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8396719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerStolas/pseuds/SerStolas
Summary: Liara T’soni spent her entire adult life studying the ruins and relics left behind by the Protheans.  She thought her wildest dreams had come true when she and Shepard revived a real life Prothean on Eden Prime.  But she found reality was far different than her dreams.  Instead of a fount of knowledge, she found a vengeful, arrogant killing machine.  Could Liara actually learn anything from Javik, and learn to stand him, and could Javik learn that there was more to live for than vengeance?Liara and Javik centric fic after reading fanfic comments that there wasn't enough of Liara and Javik.  Background relationship between Kaidan Alenko and Alik Shepard.  Possible additional background relationships as the story continues.Bioware owns Mass Effect.  I'm just playing with their toys.





	1. Prothean Sized Problem

**Author's Note:**

> Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, Strive for the Future  
> A Mass Effect Fan Fic  
> Pairing: Liara T’soni/Javik, some Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard  
> Mainly a Liara/Javik centric fanfic  
> Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect

There had been many uncertainties in Liara T’soni’s life, though she would probably never admit that to anyone but Commander Alik Shepard. Shepard had seen her at both her best and her worst, from the death of her mother to her ascension as Shadow Broker. In many ways she’d grown because of the human Spectre, and she would always be glad for it. 

The next biggest uncertainty she faced now, other than the fact that the Reapers might completely wipe out all organic life, was just how the one last, living Prothean could actually help them in that battle.

More than once Liara wished they could have found and saved one of the Prothean scientists; someone, anyone who would understand the plans for the Crucible and could assure that they would get it right. Instead they’d found an arrogant warrior and the race that she had so admired was an almost brutal Empire that cared more about conquest and survival of the fittest than actually caring much about the other races.

For Javik, it seemed everything and everyone was either a tool to defeat the Repears, or something to be ignored at best, exterminated at worst.

“I was such a fool,” Liara muttered under her breath as she leaned over a data pad. Her attention was only half on the reports from the Asari Councilor Tevos. Shepard had recently managed the impossible by curing the Genophage with the help, and sadly sacrifice, of Moridin. 

Not only had Shepard ensuredthe bomb’s defusing and cure for the Genophage, he had managed to broker a trace, if a fragile one, between the Krogan and Turians. Shepard knew what he was doing, Shepard gave a damn about the other races, and while Shepard wanted to destroy the Reapers, he did not want to do so at the cost of absolutely everyone else.

And Javik thought him a idiot because of all of it. Liara had spent her entire life idolizing the Protheans, only to find that they were just as flawed as anyone else.

She’d been arguing frequently with Javik over the past several days, enough that Shepard had advised her to keep her temper under control, something Shepard had never done in the three years she’d known the man.

She heard the soft hiss of doors opening and turned to find Alik Shepard regarding her. “Liara? You doing alright?”

Liara resisted the urge to throw a data pad in frustration. She was an Asari, she was over a century old, she would not act like a small child.

“Frustrated,” she admitted.

“Javik again?” Shepard guessed. He guided her towards the couch in her quarters. “He’s enough to frustrate anyone, I think. His race failed at what we are now trying to accomplish. We may fail too but,” Alik shrugged. “He’s got a lot of arrogance for someone whose people are dead.” His tone was casual as he grabbed two glasses off a shelf and poured them both some brandy. 

Liara felt momentarily shocked at Alik’s words. Admitted the human had had never really hidden his opinion on things around her, but she was surprised at how casually he discussed the fall of the Prothean empire.

“You look like a bit of a fish, Liara,” Alik said with a small smile. He took a sip of brandy. “Javik’s attitudes aren’t uncommon…and there have been similar attitudes in human history. The Roman Emperors never thought that Rome would fall, but it did. The British thought their Empire would last forever, but it didn’t. Point is, Empires, Dynasties, no matter how powerful, all eventually falter, and many of them crumble. Though I suppose most of them don’t have a killer race of AIs trying to slaughter them.”

“What frustrates me most is the fact that we can’t get anything…useful from him,” Liara muttered as she sipped her own brandy. “He stares at us as if we’re fungus on his boots and talks about how his race guided ours and how advanced they were, but he can’t give us anything in particular on how to defeat the Reapers. What good is he?”

There, she’d actually said it aloud. Liara had voiced the opinion that she had wrestled with for weeks since they’d revived the Prothean. 

Javik was a deadly warrior and an asset on the battlefiend, she was more than willing to concede that, but there were thousands of soldiers out there, top soldiers from every race, top soldiers that were being slaughtered by the Reapers.

Alik cradled his glass in his hands, looking thoughtful. “He can tell us how his people fought Reapers individually. He can probably give us an advantage on the physical battlefield. But finishing the Crucible, or advising on how to destroy the Reapers outright,” he shook his head. “Javik’s going to have to learn to deal with us. It would probably help us all to remember that he was placed in statis and expected to wake up and find that his people had won the war. Instead he awakens to a completely alien world and that all his people are dead.” He ran a thumb lightly against his jaw. “I know a little of what that feels like.”

“Oh Shepard,” Liara sighed. “I wish you hadn’t had to awake up alone after Cerberus brought you back. For all the bad they did, I’m glad I ensured they had your body though.”

Shepard smiled. “And I thank you for that every day, Liara. I wouldn’t have what I have now,” and Liara knew that Alik was talking about his relationship with Kaidan, “If you hadn’t gotten my body back and I made it into Cerberus custody instead of the collectors. At least I know that I am with people I can trust.” He shot her a glance, and she thought about how Javik might feel.

“Damn you for making me feel sorry for him, Shepard,” Liara glared briefly at him.

“You can still hate him for being arrogant if you want,” Alik replied calmly. “Or at least dislike him for it. I know I do. But I also know that we have to work with a lot of different personalities because of this War, Liara. We don’t have to like it, but we still have to try and make it work.”

“So what do you suggest I do, avoid him?” Liara asked dryly.

“Ignore his caustic remarks if you can…most of the rest of us are,” Alik said. “We already know that Javik doesn’t value friendship and he only values the fittest of things.” He shook his head. “But you know what? We keep on doing what we’re doing. We cherish our friendships, our lovers, our families, our people. Because they remind us what we are fighting for. We are fighting for our very survival, but we’re also fighting for everything, good and bad, that our various races have to offer…I think Javik will see that eventually. Either that or he will die a very lonely and bitter Prothean some day.”

Liara caught Shepard’s hand. “Thank you, Shepard.” She smiled. “My friends, my people, they give me something to live for.” She tilted her head. “I suppose that’s what really separates us from Javik, isn’t it? We have something to live for…and all he has is Vengeance.”

“And I would rather not become Vengeance,” Shepard replied. “Otherwise, I don’t know if we’re any better than the Reapers.”

Shepard left the rest of the bottle of brandy with Liara when he left. He also left her with another angle from which to consider her Prothean sized problem.


	2. After Thessia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My take on Liara's emotions after Thessia. A certain amount of dialog for this chapter did come directly from ME3. Liara confronts Javik after the information he revealed on Thessia, and she has to come to terms with the fact that everything isn't as black and white as it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, Strive for the Future  
> A Mass Effect Fan Fic  
> Pairing: Liara T’soni/Javik, some Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard  
> Mainly a Liara/Javik centric fanfic  
> Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect. Certain dialog from this Chapter comes straight from ME3 and Javik and Liara's fight after Thessia. And yes I am aware I didn't get 100% of the dialogue in the chapter.

They left a void behind them, a world once vibrant and full of life. But that was what the Reapers did; they came and slaughtered everything in their path, turning what remained into twisted and sickening synthetics. 

Liara stared blankly into the space before her as the Kodiak lifted off and rushed back towards the Normandy. Away from the destruction, away from the death and decay, but those images would haunt Liara for the rest of her life.

Thessia had fallen.

Liara could feel Shepard's eyes following her, and could sense the concern etched in his expression beneath the helmet he still wore. She was partly worried about herself. She had never expected to see her home planet fall. She had never expected one of the oldest and most advanced alien cultures in the galaxy to begin to crumble.

What is it Shepard had said, all empires and dynasties eventually crumble.

She didn't want to see that in her lifetime.

She didn't say anything as the shuttle docked. She stripped off her armor and woodenly left it at her cubical, her feet blindly carrying her towards her own quarters. She was briefly aware of Shepard calling her name, but she didn't hear what he said, she was too wrapped up in her own grief to hear anything around her.

When she reached her quarters, she began going through her most battle motions, recording information on her omni-tool, cleaning gear, anything that she could do without really thinking about the actions. They had lost the key to the catalyst. They had lost Thessia. And Javik, during the whole fucking thing, had been there to gloat about the Prothean's manipulation of Asari culture.

As if Asari were lab animals for the Protheans to experiment on. 

She clenched her fists as she remembered his words at the temple. Every damned time they came up to a display he had some smartass comment. He seemed to delight in needling her over the fact that the Asari had evidently worshiped Protheans as gods. 

She remembered his words claiming that the Asari had horded knowledge for thousands of years, power and greed, he claimed, to make them more advanced than the rest of the races. In her emotional state, she neatly skipped over the part where he pointed out that his race had done something similar.

Liara swore to herself and stormed through the ship towards the Prothean's cabin, all of Shepard's earlier words advising her to try and look at things from Javik's perspective temporarily forgotten in her anger. All she wanted to do was shove that smug, multi-eyed face into a wall.

The door to the Prothean's quarters whooshed open to admit her and the arrogant asshole glanced up at her from some task. “What is it, Asari?” Javik demanded.

“My people weren't animals for your kind to experiment on,” Liara snarled, feeling her biotics flicker to life around her, enveloping her in blue. 

“You wanted to know more about your history, Asari, now you do,” Javik replied in a tone that suggested she had nothing to complain about.

“I have a name. It's Liara T'soni, and I would appreciate you using it from now on,” she shouted back. She was so tired of being referred to as Asari, as if she were some kind of fucking specimen, as if they were all just specimens, creatures that existed beneath him and barely worthy of his notice. She lifted her hand, ready to Throw him against the hull of he ship.

“Hey, Settle Down.” Alik Shepard's voice cut through the insanity of it all. Shepard sounded, annoyed, angry? Liara wasn't sure.

“My home was just destroyed, and all he can do is gloat,” Liara muttered, shooting a glare at Javik.

She heard Shepard speaking to Javik, but she wasn't entirely aware of the words, her blood was pounding too hard in her head as she glared at the Prothean.

“Apologize for the truth?” Javik asked in distain.

“For not doing more! You're a Prothean! Damn it, you were supposed to have all the answers. How could you not stop this from happening?” Liara demanded, the last part coming out as almost a plea for an explanation.

“We believed you would,” came Javik's serious reply.

And just like that, Liara's anger flowed out of her like water. She stared at Javik and then at Shepard, trying to process the Prothean's answer. 

Did she just hear Javik sigh?

“Long ago, we saw the potential in your people. Even then it was obvious: the wisdom. The patience. You were the best hope for this cycle. So you were..guided, when necessary,” Javik continued.

“Well it didn't work,” Liara replied, her eyes downcast, feeling defeated. 

“You're still alive, aren't you?” Javik pointed out the obvious. Your world may have fallen, but as long as even one Asari is left standing, the fight isn't over.”

Is this what Shepard had meant, when he'd told her to try and see things through Javik's eyes. The weight of all of it hit her. Javik had woken up in a world do discover his people had been utterly destroyed, even the contingencies had failed to keep others alive, and he was quite literally the very last one of his kind. 

How would that feel? How utterly alone must Javik be? Did he wrap himself in arrogance and look down upon everyone else to try and protect himself from feeling anything?

“I guess that goes for Protheans too,” Liara acknowledged, finally lifting her head to meet his gaze. 

Javik nodded, his yellow eyes meeting her blue. “Despair is the enemy's greatest weapon. Do not let them wield it...Liara T'Soni.”

He face was mere inches from her own when he spoke her name. There was something strange but completely exhilarating to hear her name from those alien lips. Liara felt something inside of her twist in sympathy for the Prothean.

She gave him a nod and left the room almost as quickly, but a lot more quietly, than she had come. Javik had given her a great deal to think about, and his words brought Shepard's words to hear just days before back to the forefront of her mind.

Javik was completely alone in this world. In her century, Liara had seen Asari, Humans, Turians, and other races use distance and disdain as a shield, wrapping it around themselves and wielding it as a weapon between themselves and others. The end result was always the same. 

It kept them separated and apart from everyone. They never let anyone get to close and see anything under the surface. How much of Javik's arrogance was natural, and how much of it was deliberate; something he used as a shield to protect himself. He had mentioned he was a soldier, and the personification of Vengeance for his people. 

The only other people she had ever known who could personify vengeance were those who had lost everything close to them.

She reentered her quarters as she heard Shepard announce over the intercom that their next destination was Horizon. That made her think of Shepard describing the last time he'd been on Horizon, during a collector attack, and his painful encounter with Kaidan. Hopefully the two of them had moved beyond it completely.

Liara took a deep breath and sat down. She needed to think about all of this.

And at some point, she would need to talk to Javik again, but sometime when neither of them were keyed up after a battle, and when there wasn't a priority mission that had to take precedence over everything.


	3. Last Hurrah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Javik and Liara at Shepard's last Hurrah party on the Citadel DLC.
> 
> Sorry for the delay. I've had a couple of ongoing projects so I may be slow to update some of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, Strive for the Future  
> A Mass Effect Fan Fic  
> Pairing: Liara T’soni/Javik, some Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard  
> Mainly a Liara/Javik centric fanfic  
> Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect.

Javik had spent most of shore leave feeling entirely out of place on the Citadel, trying to avoid the various primitives and their rather insignificant problems. A store was out of this, this Turian was in this Asari's way. This many people had died on this planet or this colony.

Did none of them realize the utter finality of facing the Reapers? If he was to understand what Commander Alik Shepard had told him, most of these creatures hadn't even believed the Commander's warnings until it was too late.

What as the word he had heard the Commander's mate, Major Kaidan Alenko, use? Ah yes, Idiots.

When Javik had been born, the war with the Reapers had already been raging for years. Protheans had not wasted time on frivolities because survival of the Empire, of their very race, and to a lesser extend the primitive races that they had nurtured, was more important that any single individual. And now the entire survival of the galaxy depended on the work of one individual, one Commander Shepard.

Javik wasn't entirely sure he understood the Commander, but he could respect the man. 

This shore leave, as they called it, hadn't been entirely boring. There had been something about a clone of the Commander, the Commander falling through a fish tank, and some fighting with mercenaries, but the problems had been, from Javik' view, rather easily mopped up in comparison to fighting the Reapers.

He stood in one of the parks on the Citadel watching primitives trying to go about their daily lives. He scowled as he watched it all, wondering why they weren't gearing up for fighting, or finding save places to hide civilians. But instead they were trying to continue some normalcy, in the middle of a war. 

These races had a very strange view of things.

He scowled as he watched the various races scurrying about the park as he considered the invitation that the Commander had extended to him for that evening. The Commander called it a party, a last hurrah. It seemed another useless exercise, but many of the modern individuals seemed intent on enjoying what they could before the Reapers destroyed everything rather than putting all of their energy into preserving whatever they could.

He debated if he really wanted to go.

He was trying to understand these primitives, he really was, but he was from a long dead race and the personification of Vengeance. What could he understand about enjoying life?

Unbidden, the image of the Asari, Liara T'soni, flickered before his eyes. He remembered the look of utter devastation on her expression when her planet had fallen.

Javik crossed his arms and frowned, wondering where that thought had come from. In unguarded moments, he'd found himself considering the Asari over the past few weeks. She was attractive for an Asari, and if he were one of the individuals to be considered for mating to ensure the future of his genes he would...

Javik snorted at the very thought. He was the personification of Vengeance. He would die in the war with the Reapers, and if he did not and they actually defeated the Reapers, he would travel to the void to join with his brothers in death.

In the first few days after the Commander had freed him from his stasis, the thought of actually beating the Reapers seemed impossible. But the human Commander had something that Javik had not see much of in the final days before he had been frozen.

The Commander had hope. He had hope that they would actually beat the Reapers, and he inspired that hope in those around him.

Even Javik occasionally felt the odd sensation that they might defeat the Reapers and save the galaxy, to give these primitive races a chance for a future.

A future that had nothing in it for Javik.

“Ah, here you are.”

The lilting, now familiar voice of Liara T'soni sounded in his ear canal. Javik felt the reactive of his pheromones, something that had happened once or twice when he'd been near her recently. 

He really wasn't sure what to think of that.

“You were looking for me?” he asked the Asari, briefly turning his eyes from the individuals moving about the park to the pale, blue skinned Asari now standing beside him. She was dressed in one of those white bodysuits she favored. A body suit that.

Stop it, Javik, he told himself. He was a warrior, not a breeder, he shouldn't even be having thoughts like these. It was just the stress of waiting for battle.

“I was,” the Asari replied. No, not Asari, Liara T'soni. Her name rolled off his tongue with a strange ease. Since the conversation with her after her planet had fallen, he found himself thinking of her more using her name than her species. “Shepard sent me to track you down and ask if you were coming tonight.”

He turned completely towards her and frowned. “The Commander is insistent I come to this...gathering?”

Liara nodded. “He thinks it will do you some good, in his words, and that you need to relax.”

“There is a war going on, why would we relax?” Javik asked in an annoyed tone.

Liara reached out a hand and placed it on his arm without thinking, as she would have with Shepard or many members of the crew she was used to. “He thinks even you should try and enjoy life a bit, before the final battle.”

Liara blinked when she realized her hand was on Javik's arm for more than a moment and let it drop back to her side, averting her eyes for a moment. 

In the first few weeks of knowing the Prothean, he had first intrigued her, then annoyed her. Now, she felt sympathy, and perhaps some pity, for him. His entire race had been wiped out. Losing Thessia had been difficult enough for her? What must it be like to learn your entire civilization was gone and you were the last of your people?

She cared dearly for Shepard as a friend, and if he wanted her to do this favor, she would.

“Sorry about that,” Liara murmured as she turned her gaze to the park.

Javik felt oddly bereft after Liara let her arm drop. Had he actually...liked feeling her arm on his own?

Stress, just stress.

“Very well, Liara T'soni,” he said, saying her name deliberately, and again finding he liked the way it slipped off his tongue. “If the Commander wants me to come, then I will.”

~~

Javik was trying to remind himself again why he had agreed to this as what the humans claimed was music blared in the background and he watched the Commander making the rounds in this gathering.

He had overheard Liara discussing biotics verses physical skills with some of the humans earlier. He had found himself agreeing with Liara and the Commander's mate. Physical strength could be trained, but biotics would often beat it if the individual did not burn themselves out.

He had noted previously in battle that Liara was a very strong biotic, but that wasn't uncommon for Asari. Still, it was something that would have been noted in his time when the Protheans gave certain Asari a push to mate, to produce offspring to further the species.

This war was no time to be doing such things, but after the war, after the Reapers were defeated (more and more he was beginning to think perhaps Shepard could actually do it), she should find a mate and produce young.

On some level he found he did not entirely like the idea of her finding a mate. Why was that? 

Stress, he told himself again. There was no future for one like him, but he could help ensure there would be a future for her and others.

He was also beginning to feel slightly lightheaded from the drinks that the humans had given him to drink. Usually he processed any sort of toxin very quickly out of his system, but he had had much of this alcohol that humans evidently felt was necessary for a good “party.” 

Liara glanced up from her conversation with Shepard to find Javik watching her again. He'd been doing that fairly actively during the party. She wasn't sure if she found it unnerving or not. He'd been a bit more open to her questions on Protheans during the past week or two, particularly since the fall of Thessia. There was so much information about the Protheans that had been lost, she wanted to record what she could of his knowledge now. 

She had noticed that Javik seemed very much convinced he would die in this war, die defeating the Reapers. She didn't like that idea, but then again she didn't like the idea of losing any of her friends to this war. There had already been too much death.

Friends, she thought to herself. When had she started thinking of the Prothean as a friend?

Alik Shepard was right, she thought. Once she'd begun trying to look at the situation from Javik's perspective, particularly after what little comfort he gave her after Thessia, she found she understood his attitude, at least some of it, all the more.

He had told her that as long as at least one Asari lived on to continue the fight, then there was hope for the the Asari as a whole. 

She had to believe that as long as he lived, there was hope for the Protheans as well. For their knowledge to continue on. Perhaps even for their genes, even if the species itself was lost. Javik was an astounding individual, and she'd seen more than one Asari give him curious looks.

She wasn't entirely certain she liked the looks one of the Asari commandos her father had provided had given him.

There was no reason for her to feel any jealousy about looks that Asari gave Javik, but she did. It was foolish, it made no sense, but she did.

She told herself it was because no other Asari could possibly understand as much about Protheans as she did, and Javik represented a wealth of knowledge, even if he was a solider and not a scholar.

As Shepard wandered off to check on something with Kaidan, Liara crossed the distance between herself and the Prothean.

“Javik,” she greeted him. “If we step into the other room it might be a bit quieter, I know the press of people may seem like a bit much.”

Strange, did Javik just give her a Prothean version of a smile. The expression looked completely out of place on his face.

“Lead on, Liara T'soni,” Javik replied. He followed her out of the room and into one of the side rooms of the apartment. She saw Tali and Garrus talking quietly in one corner, but they had this end of the room to themselves. As she glanced over her shoulder.

Was Javik looking at her ass?

No, the Prothean would never do something so...base, unless it was killing someone. It just wasn't the kind of creature he was.

“Have you ever thought about what you might do, after all of this is over?” Liara asked him as they stood in the corner of the room.

Javik gazed at her for a long moment. “If I survive, I will seek to join my brothers, once I know that this galaxy will survive.”

There it was again, the utter assistance that he would die. “Do you really seek death so much?” Liara found herself asking softly. “Don't you think there could be some sort of future for you?”

Javik gave a snort. “I am the personification of Vengeance, Liara T'soni. I was born and bred to be a solider, to fight a war. Once that war is over, what is there left for me to do?”

“What about recording what you know of the Prothean Empire?” Liara demanded. “You are the last living Prothean, and so much of the knowledge of your empire was lost. Why let it go completely to dust? If we can record it, then your people will live on in that knowledge, will they not?”

Javik blinked his many eyes at her and appeared to actually be considering her words.

“You present an interesting idea, Liara T'soni,” he said. He always said her full name when he called her by name. Some part of her liked the way he said it.

Oh goddess, did she have a crush, on the Prothean?

No, she couldn't possibly have a crush on him. She just didn't want his knowledge to die before it was recorded, that was all.

“You told me once that as long as there was one Asari remaining, there was hope. Does that not hold true for you as well?” Liara asked him. “That would take some time at least, wouldn't it?”

“It would,” Javik admitted. “I will think on your suggestion, Liara T'soni.” His eyes flared almost orange for a moment and she wondered why. 

“But for now, I suggest you go and spend time with your friends,” Javik said then. “I will stay here for a few minutes at least, before I go and find the Commander.”

Javik really wanted her to step away before he did something stupid, and something completely unbecoming of him as a solider. He could feel his pheromones reacting, no doubt because of the alcohol the Commander had given him, and it was best if he separated from her, for both of them, but he would consider her idea.

“Alright, if you will be okay,” Liara asked, her tone concerned.

“I will be fine, Liara T'soni,” he replied. “Thank you for your concern.”

Feeling almost as off balance as she had when she'd first lusted after Shepard, Liara left the Prothean there to return to the party.


	4. More than Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liara and the rest of the crew of the Normandy are trying to survive on the planet they've crash landed on, and repair the Normandy so they can reunited with the rest of the galaxy. Some members of the crew have actually had time to think about the future, and it leads to a conversation between Liara and Javik.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, Strive for the Future  
> A Mass Effect Fan Fic  
> Pairing: Liara T’soni/Javik, some Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard  
> Mainly a Liara/Javik centric fanfic  
> Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect

Liara heaved a sigh and stepped back from the container of vegetation, mainly root type plants that she’d gathered over the past few hours. 

It had been a little over a month since the Normandy had crash landed on this tropical planet. She supposed she should be grateful they hadn’t crashed into a desert, or some completely lifeless wasteland. It had taken a bit of research, but they’d managed to find at least some vegetation edible to a levo based system. Her dextro based friends, Tali and Garrus, were not so lucky, and were living on severely rationed food paste right now.

She sat down on a log, taking a much needed break from the physical labor, if only for a few moments. Their first order of business after crashing was to check everyone for injuries and general health status. The second had been to scout the area and ensure there weren’t any immediate threats to their safety, but they’d only found small fauna that seemed inclined to stay away from them. The third was to find food for everyone, since the crashed hull of the Normandy SR2 provided shelter. Finally the fourth was to review the condition of the Normandy, and figure out how they would get off this planet.

It had taken a week after they crash landed to pull Joker out of his grief for EDI enough for him to even look at the ship. He’d determined along with Ken and Gabby that it was going to take weeks if not months to get the Normandy back in the air. Samantha Traynor was working on their communications but right now all lines were down.

They were in the dark on an unknown planet with a damaged ship. The situation hadn’t reached dire proportions yet, but depending on how long they were here, it could, particularly for Tali and Garrus.

She recalled the run from the beam and helping Kaidan onto the ship. She remembered the look of terror in his eyes at being left behind as Shepard ran back off the ship to face the Repears. Then there’d been the brilliant beam that had almost taken the Normandy out entirely. They were they’d made it out in as good a shape as they has.

She realized she’d been sitting here for several minutes and probably needed to get the food back to the ship. Liara forced herself up and picked up the makeshift bin, tucking it under one arm as she made her way back through the jungle to their ship.

She glanced towards the light filtering through the canopy and found herself thankful that the trees provided some cover from the sun; else it would feel a lot hotter. It was already humid, and the last thing they needed was people collapsing from heat exhaustion.

As she stepped back into the haphazard clearing where the Normandy rested, James glanced towards her from where he was removing debris near the hull. He set an arm full of steel down away from the hull and walked towards her. She was surprised when he pitched his voice low to speak to her until she saw Kaidan out of the corner of her eye, overseeing work on the hull of the ship itself.

“Hey Blue. They’re planning a memorial service tonight at the wall,” James told her in a low voice. “Garrus suggested it to L2. Thought you might want to know.”

The big marine had more tack than Liara had originally given him credit for. “Thank you, Vega,” she replied. She hefted the bin under one arm. “I’ll take this inside. Maybe we can try baking them tonight instead of roasting them over a fire.”  
James considered the bin of tubers and nodded. “Yeah, think we can dig a hole and bake them in the ground if we wrap them with leaves. We’ll have to do it early this afternoon though if we want them cooked in time for dinner. Let me finish with this debris and I’ll take care of it. Oh, Javik was looking for you.”

“Thank you again,” Liara replied before she turned and made her way into the stable part of the ship where they were making do with living quarters and a preparation area. After stowing the tubers where James could find them later, she went looking for Javik.

She found the Prothean helping Gabby, Ken, and Tali, working on the ship’s mechanical systems.

“We’re going to have to run some alternate wiring to bypass non-essential systems,” Gabby was telling the others. “If we try and repair everything on the ship we’ll never get back in space. Is gravity really essential?”

“I have lived under more primitive conditions,” Javik replied firmly. “If it will get us back to Earth and allow us to determine the status of the universe, then we shall do without it.”

Liara paused in the doorway to engineering. Javik’s tone indicated he had as much at stake to get the Normandy flying again as everyone else. 

She remembered their conversation at Shepard’s party, so many weeks ago, now, and then their conversations before the final push in London. Javik had still seemed torn between seeking death, or living and helping her record the history of his people. It seemed now he had no intention of languishing on this forgotten planet or just dying.

It made her heart flutter with an odd hope.

“Liara,” Javik’s voice greeted her as he looked up from the plans he and the others were bent over. “You are back from your foraging I see. May we talk?”

She blinked in surprise, feeling like a young child again, and off balance. Javik never used just her first name, and he rarely asked if they could talk, he just barged in.

“Of course,” she responded, gesturing him to follow her.

She thought she read passing amusement in the tilt of his lips as the two of them left engineering and found a quiet area outside the ship where no one was working. “What did you wish to discuss?” Liara ventured as they stepped outside of the ship.

She glanced up at him, wondering when they’d gone from bickering adversaries to friends, but they had, somewhere over the past several months. Had it been after Thessia, when Javik had told here there was hope as long as at least one Asari lived, or something in the interim between that and Shepard’s party, working alongside Javik on the battlefield against the Reapers?

“I have been considering the future,” the Prothean announced as he clasped his three digit hands behind his back. “There is much work to be done during the day; it does not leave a lot of time for thinking. But the nights, when the crew tries to sleep, I find my thoughts wandering.”  
Liara glanced up at him in surprised, meeting his multi eyes. “The future?” she asked curiously. “I know my immediate goal is to help ensure that the crew survives until we can get the Normandy off the ground, and then survive the trip back to the Citadel..beyond that, I do not know what state the galaxy is in.”

“The Reapers have been defeated,” Javik replied firmly. “If they had not, they would have found us here, and this planet seems unspoiled.”

“Or they just aren’t done processing Earth yes,” Liara said, unsure.

Javik gave a firm shake of his head. “No, Liara, I believe we are safe now from the Reapers. There must be survivors out there, survivors enough to allow species and worlds to rebuild.”

Was the Prothean actually smiling at those last words?

“So there’s hope, you’re saying?” she asked. “I still think our priority is getting off this planet.”

“It is,” Javik replied. “But for the first time, this has me considering my own future.”

She almost wished he was human or Asari in that moment so she could read his expression as he seemed to be looking directly at her.

“So you’re making plans?” she asked, forcing her tone to be casual, but her heart was beating a bit more rapidly than she expected.

“I am considering them,” he replied. His gaze was penetrating. “Were you serious, Liara T’soni, when you suggested that you and I document the history of my people, and record it?”

Her eyes widened a fraction and she nodded. “Of course I was serious,” she let out a breath. “I’ve spent my entire life studying Prothean ruins. I would like to actually ensure the findings recorded are accurate. I think there is still so much the Asari, and others, can learn from the Protheans.” Now she felt a flash of excitement at the thought of exploring ruins with him, and having Javik actually confirm or deny some of her theories, and perhaps forming new ones with him based on what they found.

Javik seemed to nod. “Good. It may be some time before we leave this planet, and more time because we can truly begin to research, but I would like to do this with you, Liara, to record the knowledge of the Protheans that we can. The Reapers are gone, but there is still more the Protheans may teach other species.”

She noted absently that he wasn’t referring to the other species in this universe as primitives as much anymore. That, she bet, was Shepard’s influence.

“I think perhaps I no longer wish to really join my brothers,” Javik said aloud. “At least not yet. There is still much I can do, though leaving behind Vengeance, it will be difficult.” His tone lowered. “It is all I have ever known.”

Impulsively Liara reached out and took one of his hands in her own. “Then let me help you, Javik,” she smiled. “Asari at least have friends, and I believe I can count you among my friends.”

Javik’s lips twisted into a definite smile this time. “I believe, Liara, I can begin to wrap my head around this concept of ‘friend,’ and call you one of mine.”


	5. Hope and Memorial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew of the Normandy hold a memorial for their fallen crewmates, and speculate on hope for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, Strive for the Future  
> A Mass Effect Fan Fic  
> Pairing: Liara T’soni/Javik, some Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard  
> Mainly a Liara/Javik centric fanfic  
> Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect

The atmosphere was somber as they gathered around the Memorial wall in the Normandy. The name of each previous crew member who had died in battle lay on that wall, but today they were putting on two names that hit everyone here hard.

Joker had been the one who placed Admiral David Anderson’s plaque on the wall. The pilot’s expression had been the same sad expression he’d worn since EDI had shut down. Occasionally, Liara saw something seem to lift that gloom, but only for a few minutes before the sorrow was back in place.

She stood watching Kaidan Alenko out of the corner of her eyes. There were no tears on the Major’s face, but she could see the weight of his loss in his gaze as he ran his fingers over the plaque bearing Shepard’s name.

His expression was so intense she had to look away for a moment. She felt Javik shift beside her, and under the cover of the crowd, felt the Prothean take her hand in his, feeling one of his fingers run over her knuckles. In any other situation the action would have sent a shiver up her spine. Now she just looked up at him and smiled sadly.

Since their talk a few days before, when Javik had discussed finding a future beyond being the Vengeance of the Prothean people, they’d spent more time together, occasionally discussing ideas for their book while they were working on repairing the Normandy. Late at night if she was awake, wandering the Normandy because she couldn’t sleep, Javik always seemed to be there, appearing out of the darkness and speaking with her for a few minutes, or just quietly seeming to lend his presence. 

His presence comforted her. Seeing him around the Normandy, discussing their future book, it all gave her an odd sense of hope, though she found herself quashing thoughts that she knew weren’t appropriate at all. She and Javik were friends, siblings in arms, nothing more.

But that didn’t stop some traitorous part of her mind from envisioning a different sort of future, one in which Javik played a very large role. 

What some part of her really desired from the Prothean was enough to bring heat to her cheeks.

She forced herself to glance back at Kaidan who was standing silently just in front of the wall. He lifted Commander Alik Shepard’s plaque as if he were about to place it under Admiral Anderson’s….and then he stopped. A odd smile came to the man’s lips and he stepped back from the wall without placing the plaque.

Kaidan swiveled on his heels to look at everyone, and there was a half smile on his lips. “Everyone should take the rest of the afternoon off…we’ve all earned a good rest. But tomorrow, we’ll get back to work repairing this bird. We’ll get the Normandy off the ground and we’ll get back to Earth, and see what’s left, and who is waiting for us.”

“Kaidan?” Garrus asked in a concerned tone.

“We have no guarantee that Shepard died,” Kaidan replied firmly. “I know it’s a long shot, but I’ve decided that I’m not going to give up hope. It’s hope and hard work that will get us off this rock and home. I think holding out hope that Shepard might still be alive is a good place to start…he came back once, he can do it again.”  
With that Kaidan strode off.

There were some quiet whispers among members of the crew before they began to disperse. Garrus’s expression was still concerned as he held Tali’s hand in his, and he, Tali, and Joker approached Liara and Javik. 

“Is this really good for him, Liara?” Garrus asked. “I don’t want to see Kaidan come crashing down again the way he did the first time that Shepard-“ his words faded.

Javik surprised them all by answering. “Your Commander Shepard has survived many things, and pulled off the impossible, destroying the Repears, something that my people did not manage to do. If anyone can survive this madness, it is Commander Shepard.” He spoke with complete conviction.

Liara weighed the thought in her mind and straightened, meeting Garrus’s gaze. “If Javik and Kaidan think that there’s a chance Shepard might have survived, I’m not going to give up hope either,” she replied. “We need hope right now.” She shot a thoughtful glance at Tali. “Tali, have you been able to recover anything of EDI?”

Tali’s helmeted face lifted. “I believe there may be enough to recover for backup purposes,” the Quarian replied. “We haven’t the tools to do transfer any backup data, but once we get to earth, some of the Quarians there I think can help. We may be able to get her back. It is a long shot, but EDI might be able to return to us, at least in some form.”

Joker’s gaze held cautious joy at that statement. “Well then, I’m going to do everything I can to get this bird flying so we can make it back to Earth.” He gave Tali a ghost of a smile before heading back to the cockpit.

After Tali and Garrus finally wandered off on their own, Javik and Liara walked towards the remains of her quarters. She looked up at the Prothean as they walked.

“Did you mean what you said?” she asked softly. “Do you really think there is hope that Shepard survived.”

“I do,” Javik replied. “And I am not saying this just because it will make you happy, Liara.”

There it was again, him using just her first name and not her first and last name. There was something almost…intimate about his tone that she found she liked even more now.

“It has been a very long time since I was able to just take a walk,” Javik mused as they reached her quarters. His gaze drifted out towards the amazingly still intact windows in her room that now looked out on jungle.

Then he looked at her with his four eyes, gaze rather intent. “Would you like to take a walk, Liara?” he asked. “Just for the pleasure of taking a walk?”

Liara felt her heart beating a bit faster again. “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she replied.

And Javik reached down and took her hand in his, and the two of them walked towards the ship exit, carefully not looking at each other, but occasionally stealing glances when they thought the other wasn’t looking.


	6. Implications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Normandy makes it back to earth, they discover Shepard is alive, and Liara must consider the implications for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, Strive for the Future  
> A Mass Effect Fan Fic  
> Pairing: Liara T’soni/Javik, some Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard  
> Mainly a Liara/Javik centric fanfic  
> Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect

The Normandy docked on earth eight months, one week, and three days from the day that they’d been blown out of Earth’s orbit and ended up crashing into the tropical planet they’d spent months on getting the Normandy into operational status. A few of the engineers who’d taken over care of the ship after they’d landed were frankly surprised the ship had even been space worthy.

In the past eight months spent around only the crew of the Normandy, Liara had let herself forget how annoying politics could be. She’d been pleased to be back on Earth, at least for a time, but she was less than pleased to now be dealing with one Matriarch and two arguing Asari Commandos who didn’t think that the humans of this planet were paying them enough respect.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Javik stood just behind her, his arms crossed over his chest and regarding the Asari with a baleful look. Since the three arguing with her were centuries old, the look didn’t quell them, but the Matriarch did occasionally glance back at him as if waiting for him to attack.

“There is only so much that the stretched resources and people of this planet can give,” Liara explained patiently for the third time. “The Mass Relays are being examined to see what it will take to get them functional again for you to be able to return home. Until then, you’re stuck here, and you need to deal nicely with the natives. So why don’t you do something useful?”

That was probably a bit blunter than she should have been, but she was tired of their attitudes. 

One of the commandos opened her mouth to argue again but her partner elbowed her and said something in a low tone mentioning the clean up effort. They both looked thoughtful then.

Well, at lease the commandos concerns could be addressed, Liara thought. They just wanted to keep busy in all of the chaos. The Matriarch was not so easily swayed.

“If you want to continue arguing, take it up with Admiral Hackett,” Liara snapped. “I’m fairly certain he is doing everything he can to keep most of the population fed and housed, if not happy.

The Matriarch started speaking again when her words were cut off by a chirp from Liara’s omnitool. Liara immediately began ignoring the other Asari as she read the text then looked up at Javik, relief spilling over her features.

“Shepard is Alive!”

Javik inclined his head. “Of course he is,” the Prothean replied calmly. He took a glance at the Asari Matriarch, the two commandos having already slipped off. “I see that some of the Asari have not progressed beyond where they were in my cycle,” he said in a deadpan tone. Liara had to hide a smile when the Matriarch’s cheeks colored. “Now, excuse us, Matriarch, but Liara T’soni and I have business we must attend to.”

He calmly led Liara off then, leaving the Matriarch sputtering at his insult.

“The Asari Commandos at least seemed to come to some sense,” he said idly as they walked in the direction that the message indicated the hospital containing Shepard was in. “But the Matriarch is merely wasting her breath and her time. She will be replaced as a leader of the enclave here soon.”

“You think so?” Liara asked with some curiosity. 

“Others of your people will see that she is wasting the time of the human authorities, whom your people stuck here are currently dependent upon, and she will be replaced,” Javik replied firmly. 

Liara couldn’t fault his assessment. “It will be awhile, probably months or longer, before they can travel back to Thessia,” she murmured, shuttering briefly as she recalled her last time on her home planet, the banshees, and the destruction she saw.

Javik moved a step closer to her, his hand on her shoulder. “As they rebuild here, the Asari shall rebuild. There is a future to be had now, something I had not thought possible when your Commander Shepard first woke me from my sleep.”

Liara glanced at the carnage around them. Some buildings were leveled; others were left standing with minimal damage. There was no sense to the destruction at all, but then she supposed with the Reapers, there had been little concern with anything but taking over the organic life forms themselves and either killing or converting them. 

“Where do you see yourself now, in all of this?” Liara asked curiously. It was a conversation they’d repeated more than a few times on the trip back to earth. They’d begun a draft on their book, stringing together chapters of Prothean history based on what Javik remembered. They’d agreed the first book should be an introduction into the Prothean race, as publishing everything they could about Protheans on the first go would probably overwhelm some readers. It would be some months if not a few years before even the first volume would even be ready for publication.

“Once the relays have been re-established, perhaps we shall travel to Thessia, if you wish to take part in your people’s recovery effort. Ruins and other sites may be uncovered in the rebuilding, giving us additional options of study,” Javik replied. “But you and I shall discuss this more, after we have looked in on the Commander and his mate. I believe you will be relieved to see the Commander alive again.”

Shepard was indeed alive, but unconscious, as the nurses reported he had been for the past eight months. She stood in the room just behind Kaidan’s chair, listening to the beeping of Shepard’s heart monitor. She would have been happier if he had been awake, but that he was even alive surpassed many of their hopes. After half an hour she ended up leaving Kaidan to stand watch, with a promise to return and check on Shepard’s progress each day. The crew offered to spell Kaidan in keeping Shepard company, but she had a feeling Kaidan would have to be dragged from his boyfriend’s side.

She felt exhausted by the time they left the hospital, just barely managing to keep her feet from dragging as she walked back towards the makeshift quarters where most of the Asari were being housed. As they crossed the threshold and nodded to two Asari commandos, it occurred to her that while she would find quarters easily here, she had no idea where Javik would go.

“This way T’soni,” one of the Asari in charge of room assignments told her when she reported to the command center. The pale teal skinned Asari cast a glance at Javik and her brow ridges creased. “Though you, Prothean..”

“I will accompany Liara T’soni,” Javik replied in a firm tone, and in her weariness Liara didn’t quite catch the implications of it. It took until she was alone in a room with Javik, and realizing there was only one bed, for it to sink you.

“Javik, I…” she blinked owlishly at him.

“I am most comfortable around you, Liara,” Javik replied in his calm tone. “And of these Asari, you will understand me best. I am still adjusting to life beyond just being a soldier for Vengeance. My discussions with the Major Alenko on the subject suggested that comfort from one familiar would help with the transition.”

“Comfort?” Liara asked, feeling her cheeks heat.

“It may simply be close physical contact, the Major explained,” Javik continued. “Though he did indicate that more intimate contact may help give one more to focus on and live for as well.”

Liara dropped onto the bed because she wasn’t quite sure if she could stand anymore as she stared at Javik.

“As you and I have not negotiated what we may wish for the future, would you be willing to give simply close physical proximity as you have over the past several months?” Javik ventured, and she saw his eyes flicker a bit, indicating he was more nervous than he sounded.

“I,” Liara paused and took a deep breath, “Perhaps we can start there,” she agreed.

And so they slept that night, side by side on the bed; not holding each other, but close enough that their clothed bodies occasionally brushed against each other, and Liara wouldn’t admit it just yet, but it was the best sleep she’d had in months.


	7. Evening Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liara deals with the headache of politics and the heart wrench of realizing she's fallen in love. Javik wonders how she could have missed the signs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did a slight downgrade of the rating, in part because I'm not going into detail on sex scenes on this particular fic. One of the few times I have to write these days is on lunch break at work, sooo..Anyway, hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

While the various races were busy trying to repair the broken Citadel and Mass Relays with what stretched resources they had, Liara was finding herself embroiled in discussions she had never wanted to be a part of. She was first and foremost a scientist, an information gatherer. Secondly she was an information broker, though she was scrambling at times to rebuild her network that had been all but shattered to pieces by the Reaper War.

But because she had served with Shepard, because she had been instrumental in finding the Catalyst information to begin with, somehow she’d gotten pulled into discussions of politics by the Asari matrons. Many were honestly concerned with the rebuilding of the galaxy and Thessia alike. After so much destruction and death, they rightly wished to focus on life. The fallen would never be forgotten, but they preferred to think on the memories of the fallen themselves, rather than the rather depressing facts of how many had died.

Another contingent, however, were more concerned with ensuring the status of the Asari race compared to the other races. The Asari, they argued, were still one of the oldest and most advanced races in the Milky Way Galaxy. Surely they should take charge of the new order and guide the other races gently along the paths they wished to see them follow.

Javik had been there for a meeting when one of that second contingent of matrons had mentioned their goals. He had rather coldly informed her that they were only more advanced because they had hidden a Prothean beacon in their temple on Thessia, hidden that knowledge away from the other races. Could they be trusted to have the other races’ best interest in mind, or only that of the Asari.

That prouncement had caused the entire meeting to erupt in pandemonium that still hadn’t entirely settled.

The more practical matrons and higher ups in the Asari government present chose to press forward with their assistance in rebuilding the Mass Relays and the Citadel so that they could return to Thessia proper. If the work continued, based on the stilted messages that had come through from most corners of the galaxy, then hopefully the first ships could make trips through the Mass Relays within a few months. 

They’d already been stuck on Earth for almost eight months now, and she knew tensions were running high. Martial law had been declared in some places to prevent riots, a necessity, Kaidan had told her, given the differences between species and individuals currently stuck on earth.

Today she’d spent almost four hours stuck in another meeting with two Matrons again arguing that the Asari should press forward with their superiority. Councilor Tevos had eventually managed to drown them out, stating that trying to lord over the other races would not help any of them, and pointing out that they were all alive only because a Human had done the impossible.

“I know this isn’t really your area of interest, T’soni, but your knowledge has been invaluable in all of this,” Tevos told her when they were alone after the meeting. “Many of us, myself included, may not like the fact that your Prothean is right, but we have to deal with it. Our race has held itself over the others for too long…I fear the dance of diplomacy between the many races will be quite difficult for years to come.”

She shook her head. “But I realize that only by working together did we manage to defeat the Reapers…we had to help Shepard and he helped us. We must continue to build on that spirit of cooperation and not let it evaporate.”

“You are wiser than most, Councilor Tevos,” Liara had replied.

Now she was headed back to the quarters she shared with Javik in the hopefully temporary “Asari district” of what remained of London. He’d been offered private quarters when the district had first been set up, but a steady yellow eyed gaze at the Asari around them and a simple but forceful “No” convinced the other Asari to not push the issue.

Liara paused and rubbed her forehead as she reached the corridor leading to their quarters. There was a great deal of curiosity among the Asari stranded on earth about the Prothean, and she had overheard more than one Asari maidan and even some matrons expressing an interest in reproducing with Javik. Such old genes from a bygone race showed perchance for survival, and it would certainly widen the gene pool.

Liara found her mouth forming into a thin line at the thought of Javik melding with another Asari, and she scolded herself with the next thought after that. She and Javik hadn’t melded, and they hadn’t declared they were in a relationship…but they spent time together, they shared quarters…he shared her bed, though it was for nothing other than sleeping.

She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. Her emotional state when it came to Javik was much more jumbled than the initial interest she’d taken in Shepard, all those years ago. The thought of something happening to Javik, or Javik changing his mind and joining his brothers in the void, filled her with a sense of panic. 

She didn’t know if she risked the tentative bond between them to tell him she felt something far deeper than friendship for him.

She heard movement elsewhere in the corridor and forced one foot in front of the other. It would not do for another Asari to discover her in such an emotional state in the hallway. Javik might not even be in their room right now. He’d taken to having discussions with some of the more curious scientists, Asari, Human, and otherwise, about the Protheans. Maybe she would be lucky and he’d be out late tonight and she could muddle through her messy emotions alone.

But this late in the evening, it was not to be. It was almost as if he sensed her outside the door and unlocked it, pulling it open, before she could even turn her key in the lock. 

The Prothean stood there, looking down at her with his multiple, unreadable, golden eyes. He seemed to always know when she’d had a rough day, and he gently took her by the wrist and tugged her into the room, shutting and locking the door behind them.

“There is a bath already drawn for you, Liara,” he said, her name rolling easily off his tongue now, as he led her inside. “If this meeting was anything like the last, it will help you relax. Then we shall consider the nature of dinner. James Vega found what he calls ‘smoked salmon’ in some foil packaging and promises that it should suit the two of us.”

Liara couldn’t find any reason to argue, and she moved to the bathroom and undressed, sinking gratefully into the tub of hot water. As she washed, it occurred to her that tonight, and many nights in the past, Javik had watched her dress and undress, silently watching her as she went through the everyday motions.

If she were human she might have been embarrassed, and some part of her mind wondered what Javik thought of what he saw, but she could not bring herself to ask. 

As she was climbing out of the tub, he appeared with a warm towel and fresh clothing, against anticipating her needs as no one had done since she was a small child. When she was dressed he appeared to consider her for a long moment and she swore she saw his hand twitching before he turned and headed back to the main room.

They ended up on the couch, just big enough for the two of them, eating the salmon and some kind of canned green warmed up in the microwave. Their thighs touched now and again as they always did, but tonight, he seemed to shift whenever she did, maintaining the bodily contact the entire meal.

Liara glanced up at him and his unreadable expression again, her thoughts going back to the train earlier, the whispers of admiration she’d heard from other Asari, and-

“I have no desire to ‘meld’ with another Asari, Liara T’soni,” Javik’s firm voice broke through those thoughts, and she realized she’d spoken them aloud. He reached out, taking her five fingered hand into his three fingered one. “I am well aware that this melding is an intimate thing. I have no desire to be intimate with another asari.”

“With any Asari, or just another Asari?” Liara found herself asking quietly.

Javik gave her one of those looks he usually reserved for someone he thought was being particularly foolish. “With another Asari,” he repeated firmly. He took her hand in his then, gently putting pressure on the pulse at her wrist, and she felt her heart beating a little faster. “I would think, Liara T’soni, that my presence here would have demonstrated that already.”

“I didn’t know if you only stayed because you were more comfortable with me or that-“ she found her words tumbling over themselves, until Javik leaned down, and she felt the approximation of his lips pressing against her own.

“You have given me more to live for than just Vengeance, Liara,” he said against her lips. “I am not going anywhere.”

Liara shifted on the couch and found herself more or less in his lap, their half eaten meals forgotten as she felt his hands roaming along her arms; her thighs; her body. 

She forced herself to take a deep breath, feeling guilty. “Will you Meld with me, Javik.”

He actually smiled. It might have been a terrifying sight to someone who didn’t know him as she did.   
“I wondered when you would ask, Liara.”

In the early morning outs, with her body entwined with his own in the quiet of their bed, she wondered how, with his insistence at staying with her, in her quarters, and always being with her each night, how she could have ever wondered that he might want another.


	8. Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so we've reached an epilogue. There may be one shots of these two in the future, I think Javik and Liara solidifying their relationship has run its course. Thank you to everyone who read the story and left comments and kudos!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mass effect belongs to Bioware and EA.

“It took them long enough,” Garrus muttered as he watched Kaidan and Shepard move across the dance floor for their first dance as husband and husband.

“You’re one to talk,” Liara replied in an amused tone from across the table. Her eyes were on her friends as she spoke to Garrus. “When are you going to propose to Tali’Zorah?”

Garrus coughed nervously and glanced towards the bar where Tali was talking to Joker and EDI’s new mobile platform. “Well..I..er”

“She will expect it someday,” Liara replied, her eyes dancing merrily.

“We’re figuring something out,” Garrus conceded. “But we’re waiting until more of the rebuilding on Rannoch is done. She wants to be out of a suit for the bonding ceremony, and I agree.” He smirked. “What about you and Javik?”

“I don’t even know if Protheans had weddings,” Liara replied. “But with as often as we have melded, I am not concerned with Javik going anywhere. I don’t really need a wedding, per say.”

“Uh huh,” Garrus replied, sounding unconvinced. 

“Protheans had commitment ceremonies, but they were rare in my time,” Javik’s voice made Liara jump, and Garrus smirked again. It was hard to get the jump on a sniper, even for the Protheans. “If you wish we could attempt to recreate one, or go with the Asari ceremony.”

“Most don’t usually do that until the Matron stage, if ever,” Liara replied, her cheeks turning a faint shade of purple. 

One of those odd smiles flickered over Javik’s face at her blush.

“Javik, smiling? I think the universe must have come to an end,” Garrus remarked in amusement.

“Hush,” Liara turned a glare to the Turian. Garrus merely grinned at her before he rose from the table as the first song ended, and went to collect Tali for a dance.

Javik looked amused as he settled into the chair beside Liara. She turned her gaze to the drink, sipping on the alcohol, well aware of Javik’s gaze. “Sorry about that,” she managed at last. “Weddings tend to lead to wedding talk.”

“I have observed this,” Javik replied. “First in the marriage of Ken and Gabby, and now Shepard and Alenko’s wedding. I know from our melds that you do not doubt our relationship, or me, but do you wish to get married in the human, or Asari fashion? What do you want for our future?”

Liara actually found herself considering the question. Javik watched the expressions flicker over her face, waiting patiently. He had learned that patience long before he had met Liara T’soni, and he found it served him well in this relationship with her.

If she’d been human, Liara probably would have answered immediately, but she had the experience of a few more years than most humans even lived.  
She knew she loved Javik, and she knew from their melding that he loved her. Did they need anything more? 

The question of futures had come up quite a bit recently. They’d finished their first book, and would be considering a tour to various planets to promote it soon. Neither of them had specifically stated what they wanted after that though.

“I don’t know?” she said at last. “I know that I wish to stay with you.”

The last she said in a firmer tone, and Javik smiled again. He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. “That is not a question of what shall happen, Liara T’soni, that is a statement of what will be. You taught me more than Vengeance, and so long as you will have me, I shall be here.” His regarded her intently, and did she see…uncertainty in his gaze?

“But for the rest? Where do you want to settle? Would you like children?” his tone was softer on the last word.

Oh…OH!

“I think you and I have a great deal more than we can write, but I think I should like to settle on the Citadel, between visits to Prothean sites, between book tours,” Liara said at last. “We could settle on Thessia I suppose, but I don’t know that it is really home anymore. The Normandy is more home than anything else.”

“Perhaps we shall stay on the Normandy then, so long as the Major and Commander shall command it?” Javik suggested. “And then we shall settle on the Citadel, when they retire, as humans eventually do.”

“And then perhaps we will meld for more than just the pleasure of it,” Liara said. She made it a statement, not a question.

Javik smiled. “I believe, Liara T’soni, that I would like that, very much.”

She looked at her hand in his, and gave him a dazzling smile.

“Then someday, we’ll do just that,” she said. She rose to her feet then, and pulled him with her. “But tonight, dance with me?”

Javik eyed the dance floor and the people now gathered there suspiciously for a moment.

Then, side by side, they walked to the floor. 

“A dance of life,” he said. “A dance, for the future.”

And the future would be bright indeed.


End file.
